The Fisherman’s Widow displays cultural customs of the Greek people. Mythological creatures are present in many Greek folktales. In this folktale, the mere-people and the hippocampus were examples. These creatures do not exist in real life, but the Greek people used them to make their tales more interesting and to make a point. In the story, the younger women of the village were making fun of the wounded hippocampus, but the old widow went and helped it. It then took her to the imaginary city of Atlantis. Atlantis was a fictional place that was used to house the Greek gods Poseidon and Triton and the mere-people. These myths would then teach Greeks why things are or valuable life lessons as in The Fisherman’s Widow. Other cultural aspects of the fisherman’s widow include the way the widow was treated by the other villagers before she wished them good. She lived in a house by herself, and she was not helped with offerings of food. Even though she was a single older woman, she had to fend for herself. This goes to show that, as a widow, she was somewhat shunned from society, and had little sympathy from her fellow villagers. However, once the village had become prosperous and well-kept, and she had moved on to be the princess of Atlantis, the villagers erected a statue of her. This reflects that a high honor in the Greek society was to have your statue erected and placed in a public place. Because the widow had saved the village, and become a great leader, she was honored by her ex-villagers. Through the mythological traditions and cultural traits shown in this Greek tale, one can more vividly comprehend the way in which these ancient people functioned.
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